When Fleming shot the wolf, he was coyote hunting and believed the canine was a coyote. Newfoundland is an island and it had not had any confirmed wolves on it since the 1930s.

“We can only speculate on how this wolf arrived on the island of Newfoundland, but most likely it travelled from Labrador on sea ice to the island,” Environment and Conservation Minister Terry French said in a statement. “Wolves are known to travel long distances and with the number of polar bears coming ashore in Newfoundland this spring, sea ice was plentiful enough to provide a travel route for a Labrador wolf.”